H0408 H0408
Negative particle of prohibition or wish: 'do not, let not'; also standalone 'no' or rhetorical negation.
A subjective negation particle that expresses wishes, commands, and prohibitions rather than stating bare facts. Where לֹא flatly denies ('it is not'), אַל entreats or forbids ('let it not be!'). It overwhelmingly appears with jussive and cohortative verb forms — the classic אַל־תִּירָא 'fear not!' of Genesis 15:1 being its signature usage. Occasionally it stands alone as a blunt 'no' (Judges 19:23) or even conveys 'nothingness' in poetic contexts like Job 24:25. Spanish and French translations capture the prohibitive force with 'No-' and negative constructions, while German 'zu' reflects its syntactic attachment to infinitive-like forms.
4. substantival nothingness — A hapax substantival use in Job 24:25, where אַל with a preposition conveys 'to nothing' or 'for naught,' expressing futility or complete absence of substance. Spanish 'en-nada' ('into nothing') and French 'à-ne...pas' both capture this shift from particle to quasi-noun, highlighting the poetic register of Job's rhetoric. 1×
AR["إِلَى-لَا-شَيْءٍ"]·ben["শূন্যে"]·DE["zu-zu"]·EN["to-nothing"]·FR["à-ne...pas"]·heb["ל-אל"]·HI["शून्य-के-लिए"]·ID["sia-sia"]·IT["per-non"]·jav["dhumateng-tanpa-guna"]·KO["아무것도-아니게"]·PT["nada"]·RU["ничем"]·ES["en-nada"]·SW["kuwa-bure"]·TR["hiç"]·urd["بےکار"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. prohibitive negation do-not — The dominant prohibitive or vetitive use, pairing with jussive and cohortative imperfects to express negative commands, entreaties, and wishes: 'do not!', 'let not!' (712 of 725 occurrences). Found across every genre — patriarchal assurance (Gen 15:1 אַל־תִּירָא), the binding of Isaac (Gen 22:12 אַל־תִּשְׁלַח יָדְךָ), and psalmic petition. Spanish 'No-' and French 'vers' both reflect this directive, volitional quality that sets אַל apart from the indicative negator לֹא. 712×
AR["لا","لا-","لاَ","لاَ-","لَا","لَا-"]·ben["আল-","ও-মধ্যে","কিছুতেই-না-","না","না-"]·DE["zu"]·EN["do-not","do-not-","not","not-"]·FR["vers"]·heb["אל"]·HI["न","न-","न-ही","नहीं-","ना-","मत","मत-"]·ID["Jangan","jangan","jangan-"]·IT["verso"]·jav["Ampun-","aja-","ampun-","mugi-sampun-","sampun","sampun-"]·KO["말라","말라-","아니","하지-마라","하지-마소서","하지-마소서-","하지-말라","하지-말라-","하지마라"]·PT["Não","não","não-"]·RU["не","не-","пусть-не"]·ES["No-","no","no-"]·SW["al","asi-","isi","msi","msi-","msioe","msiwafanyie-","msiwaguse-","msiwape","usi-","usiache","usigeuze","usiogope"]·TR["Dokunmayın","degil-","değil","korkma-","korkmayın","olma-","olmasın-","olmayın-","sakla-","savaşmayın-","silme","yapmayın"]·urd["مت","مت-","نہ","نہ-","نہ-کر","نہ-کرو"]
1 Chr 16:22, 1 Chr 16:22, 1 Chr 21:13, 1 Chr 22:13, 1 Chr 28:20, 2 Chr 6:42, 2 Chr 13:12, 2 Chr 14:11, 2 Chr 18:7, 2 Chr 20:15, 2 Chr 20:17, 2 Chr 25:7 (+38 more)
2. negative response no — A standalone negative response or existential negation meaning 'no' or 'there is none,' functioning declaratively rather than prohibitively. In Ruth 1:13 Naomi says אַל בְּנֹתַי, a heartfelt 'no, my daughters,' and in 2 Samuel 1:21 David's lament uses it for existential absence. French 'non' and German 'nein' confirm the shift from prohibition to outright negation in these passages. 11×
AR["لا","لا-","لَا","لَا-"]·ben["না","না-"]·DE["nein","nicht-","zu"]·EN["is-no","no","no-"]·FR["ne...pas","non","non-"]·heb["אל","אל-","אל־"]·HI["न","नहीं","ना"]·ID["Jangan","bukan-","jangan","jangan-"]·IT["no","no-","non"]·jav["Sampun-","Sampun-ngantos","ampun-","boten","boten-wonten","sampun","sampun-"]·KO["말라-","아니","아니다","아니다-","아니오","알","없기를","하지-말라"]·PT["não","¶ Não"]·RU["не-","нет","нет-"]·ES["No","no"]·SW["Hapana","hakuna","hapana","la","la-","tafadhali","usiwe","wala"]·TR["Yapma","değil-","hayir","hayir-","hayır","hayır-","olmasın"]·urd["نہ","نہ-","نہیں"]
3. rhetorical interrogative negation — A rare rhetorical-interrogative use where אַל introduces a question expecting an affirmative answer, functioning like 'did not...?' or 'where?' In 1 Samuel 27:10, David's evasive reply to Achish employs this construction. The multilingual glosses (English 'where,' French 'où,' German 'wo') show translators reading an interrogative spatial sense rather than a simple negation, reflecting the contextual flexibility of the particle. 1×
AR["ألَم"]·ben["না-"]·DE["wo"]·EN["where"]·FR["où"]·heb["אל-"]·HI["नहि-"]·ID["ke-mana-"]·IT["dove"]·jav["dhateng-pundi"]·KO["아니하였느냐"]·PT["não-"]·RU["куда-"]·ES["no-"]·SW["wapi-"]·TR["değil-mi"]·urd["نہیں-"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
II. אַל adv. of negation (so Ph. e.g. CIS i.3,4.5.8, Bi Aramaic, Sab. (DHMZMG 1875, 596), and in the Eth. አልቦ albo, is not), denying however, not objectively as a fact (like לֹא, οὐ), but subjectively as a wish (like μή), expressing therefore a deprecation or prohibition: a. (a) with a verb, which is then always an impf. (never an imperative), by preference in the cohort. or jussive mood, where…